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Thursday, May 11, 2017

The Campaign for Mosul: April 29-May 11, 2017

By Jessa Rose Dury-Agri and the ISW Iraq Team

Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) surged in northwest Mosulin a bid to clear the city prior to Ramadan, anticipated to begin on
May 26. Emergency Response Division (ERD) and Federal Police (FP) units joined 9th and 15th Iraqi Army Division
units in northwest Mosul on April 28. The combined forces recaptured the neighborhoods of Mushairfa and 30 Tamouz, and are fighting to
seize the denser neighborhoods of Harmat, 17 Tamouz, and Hawi Kanisa as of
publication. Meanwhile, Counter-Terrorism Services (CTS) recapturedthree neighborhoods in western Mosul. ISF
are unlikely to clear the city prior to Ramadan. ISIS
claimedto launch attacks
to retake two Old City gates, Bab al-Jadid and Bab al-Toub. ISIS will also
continue to defend the Old City by conducting suicide attacks and attempting to draw fire on civilian gatherings. ISIS will
concentrate its defenses around al-Nuri Great Mosque, where ISIS leader Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared publicly in 2014.